FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Adelphi to Host Final Four Weekend This Saturday and Sunday
The four higher-seeded teams - Adelphi, Le Moyne, Pace, and New Haven - all posted Quarterfinal Round wins as the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship got underway earlier. Here's how Wednesday's action played out -
#1 Adelphi 21, #8 Assumption 10
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Adelphi only had a one-goal advantage heading into halftime of the Northeast-10 quarterfinal matchup with no. 8 Assumption, but used a 14-2 second half en route to a 23-10 victory Wednesday afternoon to advance to the semifinals. With the win, the Panthers earn hosting rights for the NE10 Final Four, slated to begin Saturday, May 4. Semifinal action will commence at 11:00 a.m. with the second set of the doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m.
Lena Riportella, pictured, posted a new career-high in points and goals, finishing with nine and seven, respectively, scoring five of her goals in the second half. She was followed by Kole Pollock who collected six goals and two draw controls in the win. Hailey Peterson earned the win after taking over with 12:36 left in the first half, down by two. She accounted for nine saves and only allowed two goals through the second frame.
Assumption (9-8) got two goals on the board in the early going, but tallies from Riportella and Pollock both netted goals to make it an even game. The teams went back and forth with two goals apiece as Pollock's two consecutive goals made it 6-6 with 9:07 still remaining in the first half.
Halftime was just what Adelphi (17-1) needed to regroup as a 10-1 run allowed them to shift into the driver's seat. Riportella started the scoring frenzy as six different players scored in a span of 15 minutes to push the quarterfinal into a running clock situation. Kailyn Hart's goal at 10:35 halted the time, but not for long as the Panthers collected four more unanswered goals to close out the contest.
#2 Le Moyne 18, #7 Saint Anselm 1
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Le Moyne junior attacker Bryanna Fazio registered four points in the first half to lead Le Moyne to an 18-1 victory over Saint Anselm in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on Wednesday afternoon at Ted Grant Field. The Dolphins advance to the NE10 semifinals for the fourth straight year and seventh time in eight years.
The Dolphins tallied the first 14 goals of the game, including 13 in the first half. Fazio started the scoring just 29 seconds into the game with her 55th goal of the year. After winning the ensuing draw, she fed freshman attacker Erin McMullen 13 seconds later for her 41st goal of the season. After coming on to the field as an injury replacement for a free-position attempt, freshman attacker Emily Altland buried the attempt for her 15th goal of the season with 27:08 left. Junior midfielder Monica Sanna followed with her 22nd goal of the campaign with 25:26 to go.
Following seven minutes of scoreless play, sophomore attacker Sidney Hall registered her 41st goal of the year. Just 49 seconds later, freshman attacker Brittney Pollack converted a free-position shot for her sixth tally of the year. Fazio extended the lead to 7-0 another 49 seconds later off a free-position shot. Junior attacker Madison Pritchard followed another 45 seconds later with a free-position goal of her own for her 10th tally of the year.
Hall pushed the margin to 9-0 with 14:48 left, while Pollock followed 21 seconds later with her seventh goal of the year to give the Dolphins a double-digit lead. Molly Beck got the Hawks on the scoreboard with 22:41 to play with a free-position goal for her 38th marker of the campaign.
Sophomore Hannah George registered her 17th win of the season after making four saves, including three in the second half. Zoie Cavotta stopped five shots, including four in the first half, in the loss.
#3 Pace 18, #6 Bentley 10
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - For the first time in program history, Pace won an NE10 postseason game as the third-seeded Setters defeated sixth-seeded Bentley in NE10 Quarterfinal action earlier tonight. Five unanswered goals midway through the first half would help propel Pace past the upset-minded Falcons.
The Setters' Angela Kelly led all players with six goals and was one of four Pace players to register a hat trick in the win. Casey Gelderman (4 goals), Abby Haimson (3), and Courtney Pabst (3) would combine for 16 of Pace's 18 goals. Julia Glavin led the Falcons with four goals. Jillian Oross was outstanding in the cage for Pace, stopping 16 of the 26 shots she faced. Eliza Bresler made 17 saves for the Falcons.
With the win, Pace will now take on Le Moyne Saturday afternoon in one semifinal game with the winner advancing to Sunday's title game.
#4 Merrimack 14, #5 New Haven 10
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Bridget Schofield scored four goals and added a pair of assists as Merrimack overcame a slow start to advance to the semifinal round of the NE10 Championship. With the win, the Warriors advance to take on top-seeded Adelphi in Garden City Saturday afternoon.
New Haven scored the first three goals of the game and would take a 4-1 lead after reigning NE10 player of the week, Mackenzie Reh scored with just under 11 minutes left in the first half. The Warriors, however, would respond by scoring the next seven goals of the game to take an 8-4 lead into the half. New Haven would score twice after the half to make the score 8-6, but Merrimack responded with two goals for their side to extend the lead back to four at 10-6.
Lauren Trepaney earned the win for the Warriors as she stopped 15 shots to improve to 10-1 on the year. Gianna Guerra made 13 saves in the loss.
2018 NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 2nd
Quarterfinals
Game 1: #1 Adelphi 21, #8 Assumption 10
Game 2: #2 Le Moyne 18, #7 Saint Anselm 1
Game 3: #3 Pace 18, #6 Bentley 10
Game 4: #4 Merrimack 14, #5 New Haven 10
Saturday, May 5th
Semifinals (Final four at Adelphi)
Game 5: #1 Adelphi vs. #4 Merrimack | 11:00am
Game 6: #2 Le Moyne vs. #3 Pace | 2:00pm
Sunday, May 6th
Championship
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner | 1:00pm
Game times for the semifinals and championship game will be confirmed as soon as possible
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at Adelphi and Le Moyne
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
